Devices for measuring physiological parameters such as blood glucose concentration, cholesterol value, uric acid concentration, or PH value can obtain samples through test strips after sample collecting to facilitate the measurement under predetermined test conditions. Some analyte measuring devices can read different types of test strips. In order for the analyte measuring device to be able to identify the type of test strips or to enable anti-counterfeiting, one may mechanically encode the test strip at a certain portion of the test strip, for example by making some coding recesses. The analyte measurement device can be used to read the test strip, and at the same time can also be used for the identification of these recesses to identify the type of test strips to assist the reading module to select the appropriate test configuration as well as enable the anti-counterfeiting function.
Modules designed for mechanically readable encoding may have some practical issues concerning instrument assembly. For example, the assembly of multiple components makes dimensional tolerances difficult to control. Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram showing an upper cover 101 having a top structure 104 of a strip slot before assembly according to a prior art design. The space for the strip slot is formed after the circuit board 103 having a strip reader module 100 has been assembled with the upper cover 101 and a back cover 102 piece by piece. However, the distance between the strip contacting surfaces of the strip slot varies due to the tolerances control of the upper cover 101 and the strip reader module 100 disposed on the circuit board 103 during manufacturing. Eventually a reworking for adjusting the space for the strip slot is inevitable when the space is out of specification or the strip reader module 100 cannot precisely identify the code on the strip due to measurement bias.
Moreover, contamination often occurs when the reader module receives a test strip containing a blood sample. If the blood sample accidentally enters the device for measuring physiological parameters, it may cause inspection errors due to contamination or even malfunctions of electronic components. Thus, there is also a need to avoid potential contamination.
In order to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, a novel design of a test strip reader disposed in an electronic device for measuring an analyte is required.